APA has a special practice organization (referred to as APAPO) that is a C6 (can engage in lobbying) that was distinct from regular APA (a non-profit C3 organization). APA recognizes now that the restriction of this lobbying group to only practice activities may be neglecting the needs for lobbying on behalf of science, education, and public interest issues as well (which is perhaps needed now more than ever in this very troubling political climate!). Thus, APA is proposing to expand the scope of this separate organization (and rename it APAIP) to now also include advocacy in all areas of psychology, including lobbying for more science funds!
The good news is that the new version of this advocacy organization will not cost members– APA wants to reroute their dues so everyone is automatically joining both organizations for the same price as it used to cost for joining just the regular (C3) APA. This means no more “practice assessment.” Also, it looks like all dues will remain flat for at least the next three years.
There’s a useful slide deck here for more info. As you can imagine, there are folks all over the map on this change, including some who want advocacy for practice issues only. So, please speak up! So far it seems like a great step to include advocacy for the field in a much broader and inclusive way than was done in the past, including for education and science issues! This could be significant because advocacy is something APA does well, and they have the power to actually make a difference on stuff (like NIMH funding levels, funds for training grad students, etc).
Please do visit the public comment site to offer an opinion – it just takes a second, and it will be important for APA to hear whether this is something you want, or not. That site also has links for frequently asked questions, a webinar, etc if you want all the nitty gritty.